AI and Quick-Service Restaurants: Why 2025 will be a year of innovation for QSRs

The promise of artificial intelligence has been on everyone’s mind for the past few years. After the early days of comical AI-generated errors and fear-tinged editorials on how it will steal jobs or worse, we are finally on the cusp of seeing AI put to valuable use.

In the restaurant business, AI’s abilities are uniquely well-suited: mining large volumes of complex data, making and testing hypotheses on the fly, maximizing efficiency, and even interacting with customers. In 2024, we saw these applications move from the drawing board to the laboratory. Now, as we enter 2025, I am excited to see them move more and faster into the real world.

As a data integrator and solutions provider to tens of thousands of quick service restaurants representing hundreds of brands, Delaget has a front seat to AI innovation in the industry (and a vested interest in helping make these solutions work for our customers.) Based on what we are seeing and hearing, owners and customers alike will be putting AI to the test in the year to come in many ways:

AI in the drive-through: A giant leap for QSR

The drive through has always been the tip of the spear for QSR innovation, and AI is no different. Since large language model generative AI is purpose built for human interaction, the drive through is also an application where AI can genuinely make things better. The first prototype AI order-takers are in use now, and we are seeing many positive signs:

• Order accuracy: AI is very good at listening and responding to queries. It can understand different languages, can learn accents and dialects, and can infer meaning from incomplete data. It also can engage in a back and forth with customers to confirm an order, and always has the entire menu memorized.
• Upselling and optimization: Unlike human order-takers, who need to be trained in the art of upselling, AI never forgets to upsell, can understand from tone of voice how to interact, and learns what works and what doesn’t. Paired with customer data, AI can learn when to suggest certain items and may someday even be able to tailor its interactions to a specific customer or customer type if data on past purchases is available.
• Speed of service: AI never needs to take a break and never needs to be pulled from other tasks to work the drive through. Customers are never waiting for an employee to pull on a headset. In this case, AI doesn’t take anyone’s job – it lets employees focus on things that require human supervision, such as food preparation and face-to-face interactions.

The first applications of this technology are already in play, and I expect it to expand as quickly as brands can deploy the infrastructure. Once inside the stores, brands will surely be looking for other places to put AI to work.

How QSRs are turning to AI behind the scenes

The modern QSR restaurant and its parent brands are awash in data. Sensors and databases have been filling with actionable intelligence for years, and AI is enhancing their ability to sift through it and optimize everything from operations to strategic planning. Here are some of the other key areas where AI will expand in the coming year:

• AI as Loyalty Program Manager: As brands are making a push to have more transactions take place in their own apps and on their websites, more and more customer-specific data is available for mining. CRM has traditionally been limited to decision trees and rigid rules, but AI has the ability to personalize interactions and make suggestions based on what other similar customers have purchased or what has motivated them to place an order.
• AI as a Strategic Planner: Today, every decision in a QSR is a technology decision. What items should be on the menu in what stores? What is the optimal price point? Where should the next store be located? Each of these decisions can be enhanced and improved with the application of AI. When tied into the restaurant’s real-world data, it can learn from experience and suggest changes faster than any human could.
• AI as a Predictive Tool: When good data is captured, it will let brands start to use their data oceans in new ways. Rather than simply reacting to data or flagging the needle in the haystack, AI will be able to take that data, derive an insight, recommend how to operationalize it, and actually test out its recommendations in a closed loop simulation that will let owners better predict the impact of a change or investment.

This may sound like science fiction, but it’s closer than many people think. Revolutions in technology and process tend to build gradually to a tipping point, at which time the benefits are so clear – and the risk of being left behind so great – that it becomes a groundswell and picks up momentum.

The QSR industry has always aimed to strike a balance between operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. Thanks to AI, I am confident 2025 will be a year of progress on both fronts.